Kim had his uncle Jang Song-Thaek executed after accusing him of treason

In April 2015, the defense minister Hyon Yong Chol angered the North Korean dictator when he fell asleep during a meeting.

The 66 year-old man was therefore sickeningly executed by anti-aircraft guns in front of hundreds of spectators at a military academy near Pyongyang.

In October 2014 10 members of the ruling Workers’ party were executed by a fire squad for watching South Korean TV soaps. The soaps are banned by Pyongyang but wildly popular on the North Korean black market.

He also reportedly had an official killed with a flamethrower.

He banned weddings and funerals for a party congress

Mass rally in North Korea as citizens pledge support to leader Kim Jong Un

Last year it was reported the Worker's Party of Korea, which he controls, banned weddings and funerals in the capital Pyongyang during a party congress.

Free movement in and out of the capital was forbidden and state police stormed homes and set up checkpoints, according to Daily NK.

A source told the website: "They are creating a day-to-day atmosphere that is terrifying."

A small army protects his homes

In 2013 South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported that Kim's home in Pyongyang is surrounded by a fleet of around 100 armoured vehicles.

It was also reported that mobile phone signals were jammed at any public event he attended to stop the devices being used to detonate a bomb.

"Kim Jong-un desperately needs to bolster his personal security detail due to mounting opposition to his efforts to rein in the military," a diplomatic source told the paper.

He 'killed his own brother'

There has long been speculation that China has been protecting Kim Jong-nam as a potential future North Korean leader

Questions have been raised over why Kim Jong-un would attempt a risky and potentially embarrassing killing in another country.

Lee Byung-ho, the director of the South’s National Intelligence Service, said there is a "standing order" to take out his half brother.

"This is not a calculated action to remove Kim Jong-nam because he was a challenge to power per se, but rather reflected Kim Jong-un’s paranoia," Mr Lee was quoted as saying during a closed-door briefing at the National Assembly, according to lawmakers who attended it.

North Korea shows off military strength

South Korea's spy service today said that the North had been trying to kill Kim Jong-nam for five years.

Korea expert Aidan Foster-Carter says one of the numerous spy agencies in North Korea may have carried out the murder when the opportunity arose.

He said: "Agencies are vying for his favour. Some secret police may have thought 'let's take out the brother'."